I think it must be parrot with a bill that thick
They are variable hence one of the reasons for debate over 'Scotbill' but this bird has that 'bull necked' appearance too.
So for believers in that taxon, bill thickness goes: common <=Scottish <=parrot. From the pics I've seen, this is well to the right of that spectrum. Since "Scottish" isn't recorded from Poland that makes it parrot for me (don't personally believe in Scottish crossbill as a species but I think it an interesting phenomenon if really restricted to Scots pine: a bit like Scottish crested tit or British swallowtail butterfly)
Do you by any chance have a sound recording of this bird? Wouldn't be too sure about it being a Parrot Crossbill from a blurred picture like that...
Yep, Norway Spruce Picea abies - which tends to count against Parrot Xbill, tho' not an absolute bar on it.Is that Spruce in the OP Nutty?
That's more for distinguishing spruces from silver firs (though some spruces have flat needles too) - not relevant here, as crossbills don't go for silver fir cones (not ever, as far as I know). To tell spruces from pines:The only way I can ID them roughly, is that the braches angle down to the ground and the fruits (?) are hanging rather than on top of a stem?
I know there's a thing about rolling the needles but I can't seem to see the difference when I've tried it.
The ratio of bill height at the base to length is closer to 1.5 than 1.1 which would point to Common Crossbill. They are also massive birds. But you can put it on clanga.com or whatever.
Bill depth to length ratio is structure but he reckons its structure points more to Common than Parrot (and I'd tend to agree, tho' not sure the measurements can be made accurately from a pic of this quality)So you think structure is irrelevant?
Bill depth to length ratio is structure but he reckons its structure points more to Common than Parrot (and I'd tend to agree, tho' not sure the measurements can be made accurately from a pic of this quality)
Bill depth to length ratio is structure but he reckons its structure points more to Common than Parrot (and I'd tend to agree, tho' not sure the measurements can be made accurately from a pic of this quality)
To tell spruces from pines:
*Needles single, fairly short (usually under 3 cm) = spruce
*Needles in pairs (or 3s or 5s), longer (usually over 4 cm) = pine
*Closed cones cylindrical, pendulous = spruce
*Closed cones conical (triangular: broad base narrowing to pointed tip) = pine
Yep - though those would be of more interest to a Nutcracker than a Crossbill 8-Pexcept you have a lot of plantings of Weymouth pine Pinus strobus (there are in some areas in Northern Germany) the cones are rather more cylindrical, long and hanging in that species , but the needles make clear its a pine
In some other exotic pines thats similar, e.g. P. wallichiana